It’s not the holidays without some fast and easy gingerbread cookies! These are slightly crispy cookies packed with ginger, cinnamon and spices and topped with a touch of royal icing that dries down completely. These cookies travel well and make an excellent addition for your holiday cookie swap.
Recipe Inspo
Gingerbread cookies can look daunting – some bakers dress them up to the nines with full frosting outfits. However, I’ve found that a basic design can be just as cute.
Growing up, I always wanted to grab the gingerbread cookies but sometimes I was disappointed with the taste. I don’t like when cookies are absolute bricks and are hard to chew. So I made sure to make these easy, tasty, crispy but chewy!
Equipment needed for easy gingerbread cookies
I’ll admit, you need a FEW things to make these cookies:
- 2 large baking sheets – one is certainly fine but two sheets will speed up the baking process.
- A stand mixer or handheld mixer – I use my KitchenAid.
- A mixing bowl – to mix our dry ingredients.
- parchment paper – to keep our cookies from sticking.
- A gingerbread cookie cutter – I got mine from Target, but you can find one at most big box retailers around the holidays.
- Rolling Pin – to roll out the cookie dough.
- A small saucepan – to melt our wet ingredients together. This is my favorite saucepan right now.
- plastic wrap – needed to wrap and chill our dough.
Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make these easy gingerbread cookies:
- unsalted butter
- dark brown sugar – packed! Darker sugar will give your cookies a darker color.
- maple syrup – most gingerbread recipes call for molasses. However, molasses is harder to find and purchase. I found that organic, high grade maple syrup adds great flavor and can be found on any grocery shelf. Just make sure to get 100% real maple syrup.
- salt
- brandy – this is optional. You can easily leave out if you’d like.
- 1 egg
- baking powder
- baking soda
- all purpose flour
- ground clove
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger – shocking.
- ground nutmeg
- pearl sprinkles for decoration, optional – I bought these at Walgreens.
- royal icing for decoration, optional – I used Betty Crocker’s cookie white icing that comes in a tube ready to pipe. This stuff is great because it dries down and makes it easy to store your cookies without messing them up.
Should gingerbread cookies be hard or soft?
I don’t totally know the right answer. But I think the best ones are generally easy to eat and don’t snap into a million crumbs like a Nature Valley granola bar. I like when they bend at your teeth and have a nice chew. But some people like crunchier gingerbread and some like really soft. So this recipe will give you an in between.
How to make easy gingerbread cookies
Let’s make them!
Step 1
Mix the wet ingredients. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the brown sugar, brandy (if using), maple syrup, clove, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg to the saucepan and stir until well combined, over low heat.
Remove the wet ingredients from the stove and let cool for 10 minutes. Then add the egg to the mixture and whisk together.
Step 2
Combine with the wet ingredients. In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat on medium speed until well combined, about a minute.
Step 3
Chill the dough. The dough will be extremely soft. Divide the dough in half and form each half into an oval shaped disc (with your hands). Wrap each oval separately in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. If it’s not chilled, the cookies will be a mess!
Step 4
Roll the dough. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the dough. Lightly flour your work surface and begin rolling the dough into a large circle. Roll it until it is ¼ inch thick or even slightly thinner. Thicker cookies will be chewy and thinner cookies will become crispy! So you can decide what you would like.
Step 5
Make the cookies. Use your cookie cutter to cut out as many gingerbread cookies as you can. Place as many on a baking sheet as will fit (they don’t spread in the oven much). They should not be touching on the sheet.
Take the dough scraps, smash them together and roll the dough out again to cut out more gingerbread cookies. Repeat until you run out of dough from both oval discs.
Step 6
Push three pearl sprinkles into each gingerbread to make buttons. Then place the cookies in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes, until firmed up and slightly darker. Remove and let cool completely.
Step 7
Decorate the cookies with royal icing if you wish. You can use a piping bag for precise lines. Let the frosting dry before transferring to storage.
Cookie Storage
After letting these cookies dry completely, transfer them to an airtight container and store them at room temperature. Consume within 1 week. You can also place these cookies in a Ziploc bag and freeze them for 1-2 months.
Other cookies to try
If you liked these easy gingerbread cookies, try these other holiday treats:
Leave a Review
If you tried this easy gingerbread cookies, please leave a star review below with a comment. Feel free to tag me in your instagram stories too: @caroline_hoffman.
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Easy Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- 2 Large baking sheets
- parchment paper
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 gingerbread cookie cutter
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 small saucepan
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup maple syrup or molasses
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp brandy optional
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground clove
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup pearl sprinkles for decoration, optional
- ½ cup royal icing for decoration, optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Then add the brown sugar, brandy (if using), maple syrup, clove, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg to the saucepan and stir until well combined, over low heat.¾ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp brandy, 1 tsp ground clove, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- Remove the wet ingredients from the stove and let cool for 10 minutes. Then add the egg to the mixture and whisk together.1 egg
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat on medium speed until well combined, about a minute.1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 3½ cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt
- The dough will be extremely soft. Divide the dough in half and form each half into an oval shaped disc (with your hands). Wrap each oval separately in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. If it's not chilled, the cookies will be a mess!
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dough from the fridge and let it defrost for 5-10 minutes. Then lightly flour your work surface and begin rolling one dough oval disc into a large circle. Roll it until it is ¼ inch thick or even slightly thinner. Thicker cookies will be chewy and thinner cookies will become crispy.
- Use your cookie cutter to cut out as many gingerbread cookies as you can. Place as many on a baking sheet as will fit (they don't spread in the oven much). They should not be touching on the sheet.Take the dough scraps, smash them together and roll the dough out again to cut out more gingerbread cookies. Repeat until you run out of dough from the first oval disc. Repeat the same process for the second oval disc (or save the dough for later if you want less cookies right now).
- Push three pearl sprinkles into each gingerbread to make buttons. Then place the cookies in the oven to bake for 8-10 minutes, until firmed up and slightly darker. Remove and let cool completely.¼ cup pearl sprinkles
- Decorate the cookies with royal icing if you wish. You can use a piping bag for precise lines. Let the frosting dry before transferring for storage.½ cup royal icing
